The effect of developmental process on the cognitive complexity of stereotypes

Abstract

Diversity training, which deals with enabling people from different populations to work together, has been lead to date by practitioners. Much of diversity training includes helping people to become less stereotypical in the way they view people who are from groups different from their own. The lack of theoretical foundation for this training has been reflected in the lack of positive outcomes to diversity training and even the use of diversity training experiences as the basis for discrimination lawsuits against organizations. One area of theory which has lacked exploration is the relationship between how a person develops his or her stereotype and the mental or cognitive structure of the stereotype itself. This study addresses whether there are multiple processes from which people develop their stereotypes, and whether the type of developmental process determines the cognitive structure of the stereotype. Findings indicate that multiple processes do contribute to the formation of stereotypes. There are also indications that these processes exert an influence on the cognitive structure of the stereotype. ^

Subject Area

Psychology, Social|Business Administration, Management|Psychology, Cognitive|Sociology, Social Structure and Development